The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks

"In an interview with CNN, Thom Tillis, the Republican senator from North Carolina, who has become an occasional Trump critic, said that he didn't have a problem with federal agents wearing masks. "I've seen people dox me. I've seen people take pictures and identify law-enforcement officers and then put their families at risk," Tillis said. Requiring agents to take off, or even pull down, their mask, he suggested, would endanger their safety—"I think that's a step too far.""

"Doxxing-which traditionally means the public exposure of an ordinary person's identity and home address, and threats that harassment or even violence will follow that exposure-is a common technique in online bullying. Although exposing someone's home address is clearly menacing, the concept of "doxxing" cannot apply to simply knowing the identity of public-facing government employees, especially not those empowered to use force."

"It is part of the job of police-and, for that matter, politicians-to be identifiable, because of the profound authority bestowed upon them. The ability to use force is a weighty responsibility, requiring high standards of conduct, and it can and should be revoked when abused. It is not "doxxing" federal agents for the public to know who they are. We are supposed to know who they are, because that is how we hold them accountable."

Masked men with guns are operating in American cities under the pretext of enforcing immigration law. A senator defended masked federal agents on grounds of safety and protection from doxxing. Doxxing properly refers to exposing private addresses and inviting harassment or violence. The identities of public-facing law-enforcement employees who wield force are not private in the same sense and should be known. Public servants with authority to use force require visible identification to enable accountability and revocation of authority when abused. Anonymity for such agents conflicts with the responsibilities of their roles.

Read at The Atlantic